North Charlotte Today

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Thom Tillis and his colleagues recently introduced the Building on Reemployment Improvements to Deliver Good Employment (BRIDGE) for Workers Act, legislation aimed at expanding access to reemployment benefits for out-of-work Americans. The bill would give states more flexibility in administering existing reemployment benefits to help more individuals find good-paying jobs.

"Expanding access to reemployment services like financial literacy classes and resume-building workshops will give unemployed Americans a competitive edge in our ever-changing job market," said Senator Tillis. "This legislation makes critical resources available to those looking for work so more Americans can find reliable, good-paying jobs."

The legislation is based on the idea that expanding access to reemployment services has proven highly successful. These services include job search assistance, employability assessment, job matching, financial literacy services, and assistance with resume writing and interviewing. Early access to these services has been shown to reduce the duration of unemployment for laid-off workers, benefiting both the economic security of working families and the solvency of state unemployment trust funds.

Currently, the U.S. Department of Labor awards annual grants to states and territories to provide reemployment services to unemployment claimants and help them find work. However, under current law, states can only use their federal grants to assist workers who are expected to exhaust their unemployment benefits before finding work. This restriction prevents many unemployed workers from accessing valuable assistance. The BRIDGE for Workers Act seeks to remove this unnecessary restriction and allow states to use their grants to provide support to any individual receiving unemployment benefits, as long as the state believes these services would help them return to work more quickly.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that new investments in reemployment services scheduled over the next decade would reduce the budget deficit by $600 million between 2022 and 2027.

The legislation has gained support from the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, a nonpartisan national organization representing all 50 state workforce agencies, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.

With the introduction of the BRIDGE for Workers Act, Senator Tillis and his colleagues are aiming to expand access to reemployment benefits and provide unemployed Americans with the necessary resources to find reliable, good-paying jobs. The bill's proponents believe that by removing unnecessary restrictions and granting states more flexibility in administering reemployment benefits, more individuals will be able to receive the support they need to return to work more quickly.

The full text of the bill can be found HERE.